Known as one of the first African American professional blues singers to hold the title, “Mother of the Blues,” a fictional (not biopic) story about the legendary Ma Rainey comes to life through the Netflix feature film, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM premiering December 18, 2020, on Netflix and in select theaters in November.
Based on the Play by August Wilson, the MA RAINEY’s BLACK BOTTOM cast includes Academy Award Winner Viola Davis (Widows, Fences), Chadwick Boseman (42, Get On Up, Black Panther), Emmy Award Winner Glynn Turman (Mr.Mercedes, Sextuplets, How To Get Away With Murder, In Treatment), Tony and Olivier Award Nominee Colman Domingo (If Beale Street Could Talk) and Michael Potts (Show Me A Hero, True Detective).
In what may be considered the late Chadwick Boseman’s final film before his death, Boseman portrays the character ‘Levee’ who is Ma’s ambitious horn player that desires to stake his claim in the music industry.
FEATURE FILM SYNOPSIS
Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Academy Award® winner Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) — who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry — spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives.
Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth. Directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the film is produced by Fences Oscar® nominees Denzel Washington and Todd Black. Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige and Dusan Brown co-star alongside Grammy® winner Branford Marsalis’ score.
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM BROADWAY HISTORY
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom opened at Broadway’s Cort Theatre in October 1984, playing 276 performances before closing in June 1985. Featuring direction by Lloyd Richards, the play cast Theresa Merritt in the title role. The remainder of the company featured John Carpenter, Lou Criscuolo, Scott Davenport-Richards, Charles S. Dutton, Leonard Jackson, Robert Judd, Christopher Loomis, Aleta Mitchell, and Joe Senaca. Nominated for a Tony Award, Ma Rainey’s won the 1984 New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play was revived in February 2003 starring Whoopi Goldberg and Charles S. Dutton.
